Review of Fiji Lodging

Hi All,

I just returned from two weeks in Fiji and want to give some reviews as people were so helpful. PM with any questions. FYI-go to air pacific to book flights on their new local pacific sun flights-really low fares at the moment.

I enjoyed my holiday and found the Fijians both helpful and friendly. What I did not like is that most resorts/lodging are foreign owned, the price of water bottled in Fiji and that western meals were served at the lodging and you were largely limited to the two or three choices for dinner that included fish/chips, pasta, etc.

Fiji Beach House, Coral Coast (Garden rooms $92; Dorms $35)
-This is a backpacker's place with both garden rooms and dorms.
-The facilities are very nice and clean, much of which was done for some reality program
-The place has good energy and crowd with people playing pool and poker most nights
-The employees are happy here
-There is a surf break that you can wade out too, sometimes it was knee high, sometimes overhead, bring reef shoes
-The lunch is good value and the beer is fairly priced, the dinner is lousy
-I did feel isolated that but tooks some trips inland and to Sigatoka during my stay to experience more of the culture

Funky Fish, Malolo Island (Doubles $99; Dorms $35)
-This place is a labor of love, you can see all the work that went into building this area
-The food is absolutley wonderful and worth the price, my taste buds sizzle at the memory of eating here
-The snorkeling is superb, watch out for sea snakes when walking out
-Rosemary and Brad are the owner's and are gems, they were very helpful in getting us where we needed to go

Malolo Island Resort, Malolo Island ($550 and so not worth it)
-This place is big and a bit run down and the staff is not that friendly, everything feels forced
-The beach is beautiful
-The snorkeling is not that great right off the beach due to all the boat traffic killing coral
-I can't imagine why anyone would stay here for the price

Royal Hotel, Ovalau (Single $26; Double $42)
-This place is great even though the beds are not comfortable and the pillows may just be a bag of flour
-Each room has a veranda with lovely views and the common areas are delightful
-We loved our time in levuka and up in Lovoni on Epi's tour

Caqalai Island (camping $28pp; Dorm $38pp; Double $48 pp including yummy food)
-This was the real deal for us staying in a traditional bure with outdoor showers
-Absolutely gorgeous island with stunning views of Ovalau and the mainland
-The snorkeling is outstanding and certainly the best we experienced in Fiji
-The food was good and I requested lots of local food in the morning and was so happy to eat local foods each day

Aqaurius, New Town Beach Nadi
-This is just a place to stay when going and coming; the staff just did their job here, no smiles or help
-The facilities were nice but the water at the beach here was not clean and the water in the pool was disgusting

Vinaka!

Again the proof that Fiji's East (still often ignored by the Fiji Visitors Bureau) is worth to go ( Royal Hotel; Caqalai and many more you have not visited) and that you get good value for the money ( I will mention the "flour bag" to the owner of the Royal, maybe something can be done about it).

Your observations sound accurate. Your generalizations about "resorts" in Fiji is the same for many countries. The tend to be isolated enclaves of westernized culture, offering little contact with the country they're in, which is the main reason why I avoid resorts. A person just has to be careful to choose a resort that is locally run, and does not cater to short-term holiday makers who do not want to eat foreign food etc.

Good that you found Ovalau. #1's right, that it's better value for money, certainly regarding a more genuine Fijian experience. btw, maybe the flour bags are part of the Fijian experience as well. Pillows are sometimes filled with grain rather than feathers or artificial fibers. I come across them quite often in tropical countries.

oldpro - have you come across pillows filled with kapok? I ask because I have seen all the kapok from trees in Rarotonga lying on the ground. Was told by a local that it is no longer used because of lack of demand.

#3 - I remember sleeping on pillows filled with kepok here in Fiji ( long ago), nowadays kepok is hardly used and substituted with foam chips ( but you can still find a lot of kepok trees). Kepok was imported from Asia - I used it for different things than pillows, but you can hardly buy it now. I assume it's too much work to clean it, and if you stuff something with Kepok it flies everywhere and your nose tickles for hours.

Thanks for that, bulabear. Having seen so much of it lying around I would think it would be a terror for absorbing moisture in the himidity of the tropics. Shame though to see something natural going to waste.

per above ... I'm not sure about pillows. I think not. I used the term "grain" partly out of ignorance, as a covering term for any sort of plant-like material used instead of foam chips. The feel of it is 'grainy'. I've seen/used mattresses that look as if they have kapok-like material as filling. Not so often in Fiji but in rural areas of SE Asia.

I forgot: once you sun out pillows with kepok filling they get pretty fluffy again ( shake them a bit) . And they are never as "smelly" as foam chip pillows - I would always prefer a kepok pillow to a foam chip, if given he choice.